The invention relates to a scuttle structure for a motor vehicle having a drive unit arranged at the front there of.
In the event of a head-on collision, the drive unit, acting as a non-deformable block, has an adverse effect on the necessary crash deformation length.
In order to increase the effective crash deformation length, a scuttle structure arranged at the vehicle front has been proposed (see WO-A-9220563) for the engine which is displaced no the rear in the event of a head-on collision. According to this publication, the drive unit and the scuttle are arranged in such a way that, during the crash, the drive unit can move towards the scuttle and, after contact with the scuttle, can slide down on this under the vehicle.
The problem of such an arrangement is that parts of the drive unit can penetrate into the scuttle and catch on the scuttle. This prevents, or at least impedes, the sliding down of the drive unit under the vehicle.
An object on which the invention is based is to prevent an intrusion of parts of the drive unit into the scuttle and to assist the sliding-down action of the drive unit on the scuttle structure.
This object is achieved according to preferred embodiments of the invention by providing an arrangement wherein a slide-down aid is provided which is fastened to the scuttle in such a way that, after shearing stress caused by a head-on collision, at least part of the slide-down aid slides down on the scuttle.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.